Farris was born on July 27, 1923 in Memphis, Tennessee to the late Samuel V. and Addie Scroggins Wiggins.

She met Clyde Mayfield when they entered South Side High School, and after graduating, they were married on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1942. In November, her husband enlisted in the Army Air Corps and in 1943 was assigned duties with ATC in West Palm Beach and remained at that post until he was discharged. Farris and Clyde were blessed with four children, Larry C. Mayfield, Terry Allen, James Daniel, and Cynthia Mayfield.

A funeral service will be conducted at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at Forest Hill Midtown in Memphis, Tennessee with the Rev. Tom Elkins, of Germantown Baptist Church, officiating.